July 13, 2010
Planning continues to move forward in preparation for construction of a $1 billion mini mill and seamless steel pipe plant to be located at the intersection of SH 35 and SH 361 on the east side of Gregory.
The San Patricio Municipal Water District is working with TPCO America Corp. to plan how water service will be provided to the plant site. The District has retained the engineering firm of Malcolm Pirnie to assist in this process. TPCO America has indicated they intend to recycle and reuse as much water as possible in their production processes. Initial demand is expected to be about 1 million gallons per day.
In recent weeks the firm finalized the purchase of 252 acres of farm land which fronts on Highway 35 and is adjacent to the Union Pacific’s Gregory rail yard. 
District water transmission lines run parallel to SH 361 near this property.
The land purchase came on the heels of Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approval in April of a required state air quality permit for the proposed TPCO manufacturing operation. The permit application was filed in 2008 and faced no substantial opposition. Company representatives have said initial site preparation construction may start by the end of 2010.
Josephine Miller, executive director of the San Patricio County Economic Development Corp., has been assisting TPCO in planning for the project that is expected to create 300 permanent jobs that could grow to 600 within the first three years. County and city leaders have also been involved in the effort.
Community support for the mini mill and pipe plant has been consistently strong since the company first began considering the area. About 400 people packed the Portland Community Center for the first public announcement of the TPCO project in early 2009. TPCO reportedly reviewed more than 30 industrial sites worldwide looking for the right factors including access to a deepwater port, rail service and other infrastructure.
TPCO America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tianjin Pipe (Group) Corp. (TPCO), which is one of the world’s largest seamless steel pipe manufacturers. The plant at Gregory will be TPCO’s first facility in North America and it is being built to serve oil & gas exploration and production markets in the Americas and West Africa. Recycled scrap steel will be delivered to the plant for processing. The mini mill will melt down the scrap using an electric arc furnace to produce steel for the pipe production operation.
A delegation from San Patricio County, the Port of Corpus Christi Authority and the Corpus Christi region traveled to China in June to extend a welcome to the management of Tianjin Pipe and to meet with leaders of other Chinese businesses that could be future industrial development prospects.
